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NXT hosted it's second edition of In Your House tonight, bringing us five incredible match-ups. Alongside a brutal grudge match, four NXT Championships were defended in three different matches. Bronson Reed and MSK faced off against Legado Del Fantasma in a six-way, with Legado hoping to steal away both the North American and Tag Team Titles in one match.
We would crown a brand new Million Dollar Champion, as Cameron Grimes and LA Knight vied for a shot at the Million Dollar Legacy in a ladder match. Raquel Gonzalez faced long-time rival Ember Moon, who would be her most dangerous challenge since capturing the NXT Women's Title. Our main event saw Karrion Kross defend the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, Kyle O'Reilly, and Adam Cole in a five-way match.
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All that, plus Xia Li taking on Mercedes Martinez in an excellent war, where Li hoped to avenge a loss in the Mae Young Classic four years prior. To check out Sportskeeda's full review of the show, take a look at the video below.
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We kicked things off with the six-man tag team match.
NXT North American and Tag Team Championship: Bronson Reed (c) and MSK (c) vs Legado Del Fantasma
Wes Lee and Raul Mendoza kicked off the first match of the night. The two seemed evenly matched, both landing on their feet after head scissor attempts. Mendoza avoided some double-team action when Nash Carter tagged in and made it back to Legado Del Fantasma's corner.
Joaquin Wilde stepped up to the NXT Tag Team Champion, sending Carter across the ring with a springboard arm drag. Carter wiffed a kick and was stunned by a jawbreaker, but responded with a beautiful dropkick. Former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar tagged in next, but didn't want to deal with Bronson Reed.
When Reed tagged in, Escobar sent Mendoza after him instead. None of Legado Del Fantasma wanted anything to do with Reed, and for good reason. Mendoza threw a series of strikes at Reed, but the NXT North American Champion shrugged off all of his offense before decleating him with a lariat.
Escobar came in and went for a slam, which wasn't the wisest choice. Reed fell on top of Escobar, forcing Wilde to run in. Reed tossed him to MSK, who hit a series of springboard dives for a two-count. Reed got in on the fun, hitting three-man tandem maneuvers on Wilde. Somehow, he still kicked out.
Nash Carter couldn't stop Wilde from tagging out and was hit with a dive on the floor. Lee followed up, hitting Wilde, but was rocked by Mendoza as well. The Colossal One refused to be left out of this, hitting a suicide dive on all five men. Back inside the ring, Legado prevented MSK from teaming up on Santos, allowing him to work over Lee's leg.
Escobar brought Lee to the top for a super frankensteiner, following up with a bow and arrow on the NXT Tag Champion. Legado Del Fantasma kept Lee away from his corner, slowing things down to a pace they could control. But when Bronson Reed got in, he derailed all the momentum Legado had built up.
Legado crushed Wilde and Mendoza in the corner before hitting a stacked-up Samoan drop. Escobar distracted the ref, though, allowing his team to chop Reed down. Escobar spiked Reed with the Phantom Driver, but Nash Carter broke it up.
Wilde and Carter were in next, and Carter rocked his opponent with a flash knee strike. Legado hit their flying kick/leg sweep combination, but Wes Lee dove over the ropes to break up the pinfall.
Escobar went to take the North American Title, but was driven through the barricade by Reed. MSK took care of the rest of Legado, and planted Mendoza with the blockbuster/spinebuster combination. Reed made sure he wouldn't kick out with a devastating Tsunami.
Results: Bronson Reed and MSK defeated Legado Del Fantasma via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Grade: A
Mercedes Martinez vs Xia Li w/Tian Sha at NXT TakeOver: In Your House
This NXT grudge match opened with Xia Li taking Mercedes Martinez straight to the floor, targeting her mid-section. Martinez rolled back inside and launched Li sky-high with a back body drop and dumped her on her head with an exploder suplex.
Li managed to catch Martinez on the ropes with some body scissors submission, further wearing down the ribs. After tossing her opponent into the ring post, Li stretched Martinez, pulling her into the post.
Martinez managed to avoid a roundhouse, ducking away from the post and sending Li's shin right into the steel. With that, Martinez began to pick up some steam. A delayed butterfly suplex tossed Li into the corner, but Martinez missed a splash attempt. Li hit an exploder of her own, but was launched face first into the top turnbuckle.
Martinez then planted Li with an incredible cliffhanger, but couldn't get the win. A jumping knee turned Li inside out, but Boa pulled her to the floor before Martinez could capitalize.
Boa tried to distract Martinez, but she was too smart for that, tossing Li upward with another back drop. Back in the ring, Li avoided the Air Raid Crash and hammered Martinez with a cyclone kick, securing her first NXT TakeOver victory.
Results: Xia Li defeated Mercedes Martinez via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Grade: B
After the match, Boa tossed Li a chair, but Martinez kicked Li's knee out. She grabbed the chair and battered both of them. In front of the NXT TakeOver set up, Mei Ying stood up to confront Martinez.
Martinez refused to back down, and still held the chair in her hand. Ying gripped her by the throat, shrugged off a chair shot, and tossed Martinez into the barricade. Tian Sha stood tall after both a victory and the destruction of Mercedes Martinez.
Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa were upset that they weren't holding the NXT Tag Team Titles yet. At NXT this week, Team Dad (Working Name) promised to tear apart the Grizzled Young Veterans.
NXT Million Dollar Ladder Match: LA Knight vs Cameron Grimes
The NXT crowd in the Capital Wrestling Center was split down the middle on this one. LA Knight dropped Cameron Grimes with a shoulder block, but Grimes responded with a leg trip and a "Kiss my grits" taunt, which got the crowd chanting "Kiss his grits." Folks, if you can get a crowd to chant that, you've made it.
Grimes rocked Knight with a clothesline and began to build steam. A hurricanrana sent Knight to the floor. A little too much taunting cost Grimes control, though, as Knight decapitated him with a clothesline of his own. With Grimes dumped to the floor, Knight brought in a ladder.
Grimes came in with a ladder himself, leading to a ladder joust. Grimes lost his, but ducked the fatal blow and sent Knight to the floor with a boot. They fought over a ladder, and NXT's Hillbillionaire managed to sandwich Knight between a ladder and the barricade. However, Grimes may have cost himself when he didn't go for the Million Dollar Championship.
Looking to dish out some more damage, Grimes was knocked off the apron by Knight, who slung a ladder into his face. Knight bragged about his work to Ted Dibiase, who was sitting at ringside. Knight launched Grimes into the part of the wall that had been broken by Bronson Reed earlier in the night.
Somehow Grimes was able to recover and nearly sent a ladder into his opponents. Knight jumped to his feet to avoid it, and dropped Grimes with a neckbreaker on the ladder.
NXT's resident trash talker set up a ladder and tossed Grimes face first into it. When he set up a ladder perpendicular to the top rope, he aimed to finish Grimes off, but Grimes instead launched him skull first into the steel. A series of roundhouse kicks peppered Knight, and Grimes dropped him on another ladder with a back body drop.
Grimes launched Knight onto another ladder before going for the "gold" ladder. After struggling to set it up, Grimes was half way up when Knight chased him up the other side. Grimes launched Knight off the ladder, but Knight bounced back and sent Grimes into the top rope. As Knight went in for a clothesline, Grimes splattered Knight with the Collision Course.
Knight fell to the floor and hid from Grimes by getting behind Dibiase's security. Knight tossed Grimes into a ladder, which Grimes climbed up, then into the truss, which Grimes again climbed up before hitting a flying crossbody.
All that was left was to set up the ladder and take the Million Dollar Championship. Knight rushed in one last time, looking for a powerbomb over the ropes. Grimes countered with a hurricanrana and rushed the ladder once again.
Just as Grimes was at the top, Knight had a second wind, rushing in and sending Grimes crashing into a ladder on the NXT TakeOver ramp. With that, LA Knight was the new Million Dollar Champion, securing a major win at NXT TakeOver.
Results: LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes at NXT TakeOver: In Your House
Grade: A
After the match, NXT's newest champion was awarded the Million Dollar Championship by Ted Dibiase. LA Knight was on top of the world tonight.
NXT Women's Championship: Ember Moon vs Raquel Gonzalez (c) w/Dakota Kai
The NXT Women's Champion was brutalized early by the challenger, as Ember Moon used her speed to her advantage, delivering a series of strikes. However, a flying crossbody failed, and Raquel Gonzalez knocked her out of the air. Moon countered the powerbomb, but Dakota Kai's distraction allowed Gonzalez to send Moon into the barricade.
Gonzalez kept the pace slow, hammering Moon with heavy blows and tossing her around the ring. She countered the diving Codebreaker, hitting a hellacious one-armed sidewalk slam. She then followed that up with a corkscrew press and another big slam to get a two-count.
Moon managed to level Gonzalez, surprisingly, with a superkick and strong right forearm. Gonzalez was planted with Code Red, and just barely managed to kick out. Moon set up for her modified STF, but Dakota Kai shoved the ropes toward Gonzalez to make the save. For some reason, the ref didn't throw her out. Moon sent Gonzalez over the table with a suicide dive.
Dakota Kai, again paying dividends, distracted Moon as she went for the Eclipse. Gonzalez jumped up for a superplex, earning another two-count. Gonzalez went for a stalling suplex, but Moon countered with a version of the Eclipse. After a jawbreaker, she went for another diving Codebreaker, connecting with it this time.
The second Eclipse connected, but Kai placed the NXT Women's Champion's foot on the ropes. Kai finally got some comeuppance, as NXT's Tank Girl Shotzi Blackheart ran her down and took her to the back.
Moon took Gonzalez to the ramp with a tornado DDT, but cost herself precious time when she had to roll Gonzalez back inside the ring. Gonzalez kicked out and caught Moon's Eclipse attempt. After lawn darting Moon into the turnbuckle, she hit the powerbomb for the win.
Results: Raquel Gonzalez defeated Ember Moon via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Grade: B+
Following the match, we saw Kai, Moon, Gonzalez, and Blackheart fighting in the back just as Johnny Gargano came out for the main event.
NXT Championship Match: Johnny Gargano vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Pete Dunne vs Adam Cole vs Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
The NXT Champion watched on as his opponents paired off with one another. Kyle O'Reilly took Adam Cole to the floor as Pete Dunne dropped Johnny Gargano in the ring. Dunne's prize? Karrion Kross.
Kross dumped Dunne on his head with an exploder before squaring off with Kyle O'Reilly. Both men traded strikes, with Kross seemingly getting the better of the challenger with a roundhouse. However, O'Reilly caught Kross with a heel hook. It was too early for that to happen, as Kross stood up and German suplexed O'Reilly to the floor.
Johnny Gargano was next up to take on the NXT Champion, and he was the first to take Kross off his feet, bringing him down with a chop block and hurricanrana. Kross caught him diving in the corner and launched him overhead with another exploder. Adam Cole didn't give Kross much time to recover, catching the big man with a kick to the knee.
Pete Dunne pulled Cole into the apron, with Kross' other three challengers tearing Cole apart. Kross pulled him up and battered him in the corner, leaving Cole in a bad way early. Kross was a one-man wrecking crew, dumping everyone with suplexes and clubbing them with hellacious clotheslines.
O'Reilly managed to be the first to take down the NXT Champion, using his Muay Thai background to do so. O'Reilly locked Adam Cole in an armbar, but Pete Dunne refused to let him synch it in completely.
Gargano tried to break it up, and Dunne managed to catch both he and O'Reilly in a double armbar. Kross broke it up, slamming Dunne on top of his challengers before calling out Adam Cole. "We're not done yet!" said Kross as the former NXT Champion backed up the ramp. At this point, Kross was taken out by Cole, Gargano, and Dunne, with the latter two sending Kross through the NXT TakeOver: In Your House doorway.
That left Cole and O'Reilly in the ring. Cole missed Panama Sunrise, but Gargano caught both men with a pair of enzuigiris. Gargano put O'Reilly in the bottom corner, with Cole in the tree of woe. A running basement dropkick was countered when Dunne caught him with a schoolboy.
Gargano kicked out and launched NXT's Bruiserweight into his other two opponents like a lawn dart.
All four men traded kicks and elbows, leaving them all down on the mat. Cole managed to fall on top of Gargano, just barely missing a three-count. Cole sent Kyle O'Reilly to the ropes, and a reinvigorated Kross tossed him over the barricade. Cole soon followed, and Kross bounced Gargano off the apron with a choke bomb. An exploder sent Dunne over the barricade into Cole and O'Reilly.
Inside the ring, Kross tossed Gargano up with an F-10, but Gargano kicked out. Johnny TakeOver spiked Kross with a DDT and hit O'Reilly with a suicide dive. A diving tornado DDT drove Dunne to the floor, and all that was left was himself and Cole.
Gargano was hit by a few kicks but ducked the Last Shot. The slingshot spear was cut off by a superkick. Gargano denied a Panama Sunrise, hitting a sunset driver for a near fall. Gargano and Cole eliminated Dunne with a superkick/poison rana combination, and Gargano broke up O'Reilly's back suplex pin on Cole.
With all four men standing in their respective corners, Karrion Kross ran in to dish out some damage. The NXT Champion's challengers laid him out with a series of clotheslines, but after they took each other out, Kross decapitated O'Reilly with one of his own.
Karrion Kross dumped O'Reilly, Cole, and Gargano with German suplexes. Dunne landed on his feet, and they ganged up on Kross again, leaving him out on his feet on the apron. Cole and O'Reilly stared each other down, deciding to work together to send Kross into the NXT announcer's desk with a powerbomb.
It was a ring full of the challengers of the NXT Champion once again, with Cole and Gargano rocking each other with superkicks. Dunne trapped Cole in a dragon sleeper, with O'Reilly going for the guillotine on Gargano. They stared one another down, and O'Reilly got the better of a striking trade on Dunne.
The former NXT UK Champion countered a suplex and took O'Reilly down with a triangle choke. O'Reilly stood up just to be taken down with Gargano's slingshot spear. Cole sent Gargano to the floor and hit a brainbuster on O'Reilly for a two-count.
Gargano spiked Cole with one Final Beat, then locked Cole and Dunne in Garga No Escape. O'Reilly broke it up, saving the match up. A brainbuster dropped Gargano, and O'Reilly set up for his diving knee. Cole shoved him off the top, spiking Gargano with the Panama Sunrise. Dunne pulled Cole out and hit a brainbuster on the floor. However, Kross then stood up, to the shock of all of the NXT Champion's contenders.
Kross chased Dunne inside, hitting a German suplex before eating one from Dunne. The Bitter End connected, but Kross kicked out. A triangle choke was locked in as Dunne battered Kross with elbows to the forehead. It seemed Dunne had it, but the other three challengers broke it up.
Kross hit a double Doomsday Saito on Dunne and Cole, with Cole eating a Kross elbow to the back of the head. Dunne was left in the Kross Jacket, but snapped the fingers of the champion. Gargano spiked Dunne with his One Final Beat, only to be trapped in the Kross Jacket.
Cole hit the Last Shot, just to be taken out by O'Reilly, who hit the NXT Champion with his diving knee. Cole hit O'Reilly, Dunne, and Gargano with superkicks, but was trapped in O'Reilly's heel hook. Kross reached over, synching in the Kross Jacket for the win at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Results: Karrion Kross defeated Kyle O'Reilly via submission at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Grade: A+
Backstage, McKenzie got ahold of NXT GM William Regal, who said that in seven years in this position he'd never seen so much madness. It was time for a change, but what did that mean?
